KARACHI: Pakistani researchers working under government-approved projects have expressed confidence that they can develop a vaccine for coronavirus, but added that the process could take nine months or more.
As of Sunday, authorities said 50 people had died while 3,200 had tested positive for the virus in the country.
“We are actively engaged in vaccination development. It will be clinical trials on animals first and then humans... the process will not take less than nine months, could even take more than that.”
Dr. Javed Akram, who is leading a government-sanctioned series of clinical trials for the vaccine, told Arab News on Saturday.
Dr. Akram, who is also a Vice-Chancellor of the University of Health Sciences (UHS) in Lahore, said that the process began on Friday after Professor Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman, Chairman of Prime Minister’s National Task Force on Science and Technology authorized him to lead the clinical trials for the vaccine, last week.
It follows a breakthrough by Pakistani scientists and researchers who detected a genetic mutation of the coronavirus through genome sequencing – a process which reveals the order of bases present in the entire genome of an organism and is an essential step in the necessary research for clinical diagnosis and the development of vaccines and drugs.
Since the breakthrough, Dr. Akram said they had conducted genome sequencing for the coronavirus in two separate trials, in Karachi and Lahore.
Experts say the studies reveal that the virus is mutative, which means that “it can adjust to local conditions” which are slightly different from Wuhan – the epicenter of the epidemic in China which led to the coronavirus outbreak, killing more than 65,000 and impacting more than a million people across the world.
“The process revealed that the sequence of this virus is slightly different from the Wuhan virus with few mutations,” Professor Dr. Saeed Khan, a virologist at Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) in Karachi, and a member of the team that conducted the trials told Arab News.
On Wednesday, DUHS said it had conducted the genetic sequencing of the virus – obtained from a locally-infected 15-year-old boy – by collaborating with the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) in Karachi.
Dr. Akram confirmed that the tests showed that the coronavirus’ strain in Pakistan was mutative but said that it was not “clinically significant.”
“We have also done (genetic sequencing) and (it was detected) that mutations of the virus are taking place, but they are not very significant because these changes are not major – only 3-5 percent mutations are detected,” he said.
The research further revealed that two types of coronavirus strains, S-Strain and L-Strain, are spreading around the world.
“The study shows that the L-strain was derived from the older S-strain. The genetic sequencing shows that the virus was L-strain that is more aggressive and spreads rapidly,” Professor Khan said.
DUHS now plans to develop the vaccines, which researchers say requires funding – a request for which has been sent to the relevant authorities.
“We want to develop a vaccine that would be effective for all strains of the virus,” Professor Khan said.
Pakistani scientists get government nod to develop coronavirus vaccine
https://arab.news/p8yxp
Pakistani scientists get government nod to develop coronavirus vaccine
- Researchers say process awaits funding, could take nine months or more
- Clinical trials conducted after experts detected a genetic mutation of the virus through genome sequencing
Police in Pakistan’s Quetta book man for killing daughter over alleged blasphemy, posting TikTok videos
- Anwaar-ul-Haq, a resident of New York, brought his family to Quetta this month to meet relatives, say police
- Merely accusations of blasphemy and opposition to its laws can incite violent mob attacks and reprisals
QUETTA: Police in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province said on Wednesday they had booked a man for killing his 14-year-old daughter, an American citizen, on allegations she had committed blasphemy and posted objectionable videos of herself on TikTok.
Anwaar-ul-Haq, who was living in New York for the past 28 years, returned with his family to the southwestern Quetta city on Jan. 22 to meet relatives in the city, Station House Officer (SHO) Babar Shahwani of the Gawalmandi Police Station said.
Shahwani said Haq filed a complaint with police on Jan. 27 that unidentified men shot his daughter dead outside their home in Quetta at around 11:00 pm.
“The police commenced initial investigations from the family and we booked her father and uncle who during interrogations confessed to killing Hira,” Shahwani told Arab News.
Zohaib Mohsin, senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) for Serious Crimes Investigation Wing Balochistan, told Arab News that Haq brought his daughter outside their home when his brother-in-law, Muhammad Tayyab, shot her multiple times.
“We have confiscated Hira’s mobile phone and sent for forensic which would unfold more aspects of the murder,” Mohsin said.
Shahwani said Haq confessed during interrogation that he killed his daughter and alleged that she stopped believing in Islam and used to make blasphemous remarks, and posted objectionable videos of herself on TikTok.
Under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting Islam or its religious figures can be sentenced to death. Authorities have yet to carry out such a penalty, although the accusation of blasphemy and opposition to the law can incite mob violence or reprisals.
Mohsin said the investigation so far has revealed that the family objected to Hira’s dressing, lifestyle, social gatherings and relations.
Arab News attempted to contact Hira’s family but they refused to speak to the media.
Every year, hundreds of women in conservative Pakistan are victims of “honor killings,” carried out by relatives professing to be acting in defense of a family’s honor, rights group say, most often in deeply conservative rural areas.
According to an annual report on women’s honor killings in Balochistan issued by the Aurat Foundation (AF), a private group advocating for women’s rights and voicing against the honor killings of women in the impoverished province, 33 women were killed in Balochistan on the name of honor from January to December 2024.
The report also said 212 women were killed in Balochistan in the name of honor during the last five years.
Imran Khan’s party seeks permission for Feb. 8 rally at Lahore’s Minar-e-Pakistan
- Party says will mark Feb. 8 Pakistan election anniversary as “Black Day” with nationwide protests
- Says supporters are “peaceful” citizens ready to help Punjab ensure hassle-free political gathering
ISLAMABAD: Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party on Wednesday sought permission to hold a political rally at the city’s Minar-e-Pakistan monument on Feb. 8, as it gears up for protests on the day to mark the anniversary of Pakistan’s controversial 2024 general election.
Khan last week called on his party’s leadership and supporters from all walks of life to mark Feb. 8 as a “Black Day” and hold protests across the country to protest alleged rigging in Pakistan’s general election last year.
The national polls on Feb. 8, 2024 were marred by a countrywide shutdown of cellphone networks and delayed results, leading to widespread allegations of election manipulation by the PTI and other opposition parties.
The caretaker government and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) deny the charges, saying mobile networks were shut down to maintain law and order across the country. The US House of Representatives, as well as European countries, have called on Islamabad to open a probe into the allegations — a move that Pakistan has thus far rejected.
“The PTI has decided to hold a political gathering on Feb. 8, 2025, in Lahore at Minar-e-Pakistan ground,” the party stated in its application to the Lahore deputy commissioner.
“For the purpose of same, the undersigned seeks a grant of no objection certificate/approval from your worthy office.”
The party said in its application that its supporters were “peaceful, law-abiding citizens” ready to cooperate with the Punjab government to ensure a “smooth and hassle-free” political gathering.
It further said the PTI had the right to assemble under Pakistan’s constitution, asserting that denying this right would violate a fundamental constitutional principle.
The party has held multiple rallies at the huge park surrounding the 70-meter tall monument in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore since 2011.
Political parties, including Khan’s PTI, have used the Minar-e-Pakistan ground to flex their political muscles by holding power shows at the venue.
The latest call for protests comes amid renewed tensions between Khan’s party and the government. following the PTI’s boycott of the latest round of reconciliatory talks with the government on Jan. 28. Khan’s party blames the government for talks breaking down, saying it did not release political prisoners and establish judicial commissions to investigate violent protests of May 9, 2023, and Nov. 26, 2024.
The government blames Khan’s party for walking away from the talks “unilaterally” before they had a chance to respond to the PTI’s demands.
Pakistan fires 13 federal agency officials for involvement in 2024 Greek boat tragedy
- Five Pakistanis were killed when migrant boat sank near Greek island Gavdos in December
- Investigation agency says fired 37 members earlier for involvement in migrant boat tragedies
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) announced on Wednesday it has sacked 13 members for being involved in the 2024 Greek boat tragedy that resulted in the deaths of five citizens, saying that its crackdown against human traffickers in the country was continuing.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered strict action against human trafficking rings that lure Pakistani migrants with the fake promise of a better life in return for money, and help them undertake perilous illegal journeys via sea to Europe.
Five Pakistanis were killed when a migrant boat sank near the Greek island of Gavdos in December 2024. Another migrant boat sank capsized near the coast of Morocco on Jan. 15 carrying 86 migrants on board. Sixty-six Pakistanis were on the ship, according to migrant rights group Walking Borders.
“An inspector, two sub-inspectors, two head constables and eight constables were dismissed from service for their involvement in the 2024 Greek boat accident,” an FIA spokesperson said in a statement.
The FIA said promotions of three constables had been halted, adding that all dismissed officials were stationed at the airport in Pakistan’s eastern city of Faisalabad.
It said 37 FIA officials had been removed from service earlier for their involvement in various boat accidents.
“Actions continue against officials involved in a boat accident on the prime minister’s instructions,” the agency said.
In 2023, hundreds of migrants, including 262 Pakistanis, drowned when an overcrowded vessel capsized and sank in international waters off the southwestern Greek coastal town of Pylos. It was one of the deadliest boat disasters ever recorded in the Mediterranean Sea.
‘You are our front face in entire region,’ US businessman close to Trump tells Pakistan
- Gentry Beach is on two-day visit to Pakistan leading a delegation of American investors
- Ties between Pakistan, US were strained during ex-American president Biden’s tenure
ISLAMABAD: US businessman and Texas hedge fund manager Gentry Beach, believed to be close to American President Donald Trump, referred to Pakistan as Washington’s “front face” in the region on Wednesday, saying the future was bright for bilateral ties and economic cooperation between the two countries.
Ties between Pakistan and US, once close allies during the Cold War era and after the September 11, 2001 attacks, remained strained during former president Joe Biden’s presidency. Ties recently suffered after US officials criticized Pakistan for not sufficiently supporting their military efforts against the Taliban following the 9/11 attacks. Islamabad denies sheltering Taliban fighters and helping them regain control of Afghanistan in August 2021.
During Biden’s presidency, Washington also grew close to Islamabad’s arch-rival New Delhi in its bid to counter China’s growing influence in Asia. India is an important member of the “Quad,” a diplomatic partnership between Australia, India, Japan, and the US which experts widely believe aims to counter China.
Beach arrived in Islamabad on Tuesday leading a high-level delegation of American investors for a two-day visit to the country. Speaking to reporters, the American businessman criticized the manner Biden pulled American troops out of Pakistan, urging Islamabad to “disregard” the way the previous American administration treated it.
“America cares about Pakistan. And I believe that together we can be very, very strong,” Beach said. “And we need Pakistan. You are our front face in this entire region, very important.”
The American investor said he believed the administrations in both Pakistan and the US would work together to make “a good business environment” between the two countries.
“And Pakistan has something that America needs, and America has something that Pakistan needs,” Beach said. “That’s a wonderful situation for us to both be in.”
Beach said his delegation was interested in investing in Pakistan’s real estate, energy and minerals sectors. He cited Pakistan’s large reserves of gold, platinum and other precious metals. Pakistani officials estimate $6 trillion worth of natural deposits in the country.
He also said the delegation would bring in a team of experts to evaluate Pakistan’s “underappreciated” oil and gas sector, praising the country’s existing gas infrastructure.
Despite Pakistan’s challenging investment climate, the US is one of its largest sources of FDI. US companies have profitable operations across a range of sectors, notably franchise operations, fast-moving consumer goods, agribusiness, and financial services.
Other sectors attracting US interest include ICT, renewable energy and health care services.
Pakistan president signs controversial cybercrime bill into law
- Pakistani journalists, opposition leaders fear new law will be used to censor social media platforms
- Government says law will protect journalists and won’t be used to suppress freedom of expression
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari signed into law on Wednesday a controversial cybercrime bill passed by both houses of parliament, state-run media reported, despite criticism from the country’s opposition and prominent journalists who say it curtails their right to freedom of expression.
The development took place a day after Pakistan’s upper house of parliament followed the National Assembly by passing The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Amendment Bill, 2025, amid protests by opposition leaders and journalists who fear the new legislation will be used to censor social media platforms. After both houses passed the bill, it needed the president’s assent to become law.
Pakistan adopted the much-criticized Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) in 2016, granting sweeping powers to regulators to block private information they deemed illegal. The law provided for up to seven years in prison for “recruiting, funding and planning of terrorism” online. It also allowed “authorized officers” to require anyone to unlock any computer, mobile phone or other device during an investigation. The government said at the time restrictions under the new law were needed to ensure security against growing threats such as terrorism and to crack down on unauthorized access, electronic fraud and online harassment.
The new amendment bill now proposes the establishment of the Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority to perform a range of functions related to social media, including awareness, training, regulation, enlistment and blocking. SMPRA would be able to order the immediate blocking of unlawful content targeting judges, the armed forces, parliament or provincial assemblies or material which promotes and encourages terrorism and other forms of violence against the state or its institutions. The law also makes spreading disinformation a criminal offense punishable by three years in prison and a fine of two million rupees ($7,150).
“President Asif Ali Zardari has assented The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Amendment Bill, 2025, The Digital Nation Pakistan Bill, 2025 and The National Commission on the Status of Women (Amendment) Bill 2025,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
The main opposition party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, called the law “draconian” on Tuesday, saying it would be used to suppress media freedom.
“We will challenge this and we will keep resisting till this black law is taken back,” the party said in a statement released to media.
A copy of the bill seen by Arab News has set imprisonment of up to three years and a fine of Rs2 million or both for “whoever intentionally disseminates, publicly exhibits, or transmits any information through any information system, that he knows or has reason to believe to be false or fake and likely to cause or create a sense of fear, panic or disorder or unrest in general public or society.”
Information Minister Ataullah Tarar told reporters last week that the bill will protect journalists and not harm them.
“This is the first time the government has defined what social media is,” Tarar said. “There is already a system in place for print and electronic media and complaints can be registered against them.”
He said “working journalists” should not feel threatened by the bill, which had to be passed because the Federal Investigation Agency, previously responsible for handling cybercrime, “does not have the capacity to handle child pornography or AI deep fake cases.”
Tarar said the government was also aiming to bring social media journalists, including those operating YouTube accounts, under the tax framework.
The operative part of the new bill outlines that the Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority would have the power to issue directions to a social media platform for the removal or blocking of online content if it was against the ideology of Pakistan, incited the public to violate the law or take the law in own hands with a view to coerce, intimidate or terrorize the public, individuals, groups, communities, government officials and institutions, incited the public to cause damage to governmental or private property or coerced or intimidated the public and thereby prevented them from carrying on their lawful trade and disrupted civic life.
The authority will also crack down on anyone inciting hatred and contempt on a religious, sectarian or ethnic basis as well as against obscene or pornographic content and deep fakes.
Rights activists say the new bill is part of a widespread digital crackdown that includes a ban on X since February last year, restrictions on VPN use and the implementation of a national firewall.
The government says the measures are not aimed at censorship.
